Building a Contender: Part 2 (The Multi-Team and Player Nightmare)

Obviously it’s nothing to be scared of. If anything, it’s actually something very exciting for basketball fans. I just figured I’d play along with Halloween right around the corner.

Welcome, Hornet fan’s and curious readers who stumbled upon this article, to Part 2 of my Journal entry Blogs, “Building a Contender”. In this weeks edition, I will bring you a trade scenario that will involve multiple teams, and a dozen players.

As many of you know, these type of trades are extremely difficult to maneuver because there are so many decisions involved. Not only must you consider the decisions amongst the teams making the trades, but you need to consider players being moved, and if they’d be happy being traded. This is one reason the Carmelo deal involving the Nets and 2 other teams failed last month, because their was no guarantee that Carmelo would sign an extension with the Nets, and Charlotte was worried that Devin Harris would be unruly towards being traded to them. There are just so much persona’s involved, that it makes producing such trades a NIGHTMARE for GM’s. And some will refuse to get involved in such type of trades because their is just so much at stake when moving so many individuals. But at the same time, these type of trades can also completely change the outlook and future of a squad because their is potential for teams to get SO much in return. And that would be a huge plus for the Hornets as they try to build depth with their squad.

A nice thing to consider is that we have already witnessed that Dell Demps is not opposed to Multi-Team and Player trades, as one of his first moves as the new GM was acquiring Trevor Ariza in a trade involving 5 players, and 4 teams.

My trade scenario is much larger, and though plausible, will have a few “issues” that need to be accepted if it were to ever happen. These I will go over with each team as I list the players they will be accepting. This trade is a spin off of last months Carmelo Anthony deal with the Nets, the Hornets replacing the Jazz in the four team trade involving the Bobcats, Nets, and Nuggets.

Anywho… Here goes nothin’.

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS RECEIVE:

Chauncey Billups, Marcus Thornton, Damion Jones.

-Everyone knows just how big a fan Larry Brown is of Chauncey Billups. They both raved about each other in Detroit since Chauncey prefers a hands on coach, and Brown is obsessively and excessively hard on his point guards. With Raymond Felton gone, DJ Augustin has filled in as starting point guard for the ‘Cats, and is already disappointing Brown beyond belief, to the point that they are openly shopping him for another veteran Point Guard. IN COMES BILLUPS. Adding Billups to veterans “Captain Jack” Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, and athletic and hard working bigs like Ty Thomas and Nazr Mohammad would instantly propel Charlotte as a top 4 team in the East, and make them one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Adding a young capable scorer such as Thornton only makes this deal more tantalizing. Damion Jones would probably find minutes as a hard nosed defender for Brown, but is more of a salary throw in to make the deal work.

Denver really doesn’t want to trade Anthony. Their dream scenario would be for him to sign an extension and stay with the team and for them to try and build around him and make him happy. But it is growing less and less likely that he will stay or sign the extension. So its better for Denver to get SOME worth if they are going to lose him. And if Melo leaves, Denver will want to completely rebuild, and thats why they would be open to trading Billups in this deal as well. Especially if they can receive such a great young point like Harris in the deal as well. Denver’s demands in any Anthony deal has been they want young players and draft picks, along with an expiring contract. Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, and even Gerald Henderson are all solid young players who all have good heads on their shoulders which could also help change the image of Denver, and a lineup of Harris, Smith, Afflalo, Favors, and Nene would be a young, energetic, and fun squad that Denver can build with towards the future. Peja’s contract would give them cap room, or another tradable expiring contract (along with Kenyon Martins) to package for other players in future deals. And to have not one, but TWO future first round draft picks FROM TWO DIFFERENT TEAMS, makes this deal one that would be hard for them to refuse.

Though it looks like the Nets aren’t getting as much in return New Jersey has been dying to get their hands on Anthony, and with this trade, one needs to remember that even though they are giving up a lot, they haven’t given up everything. The big thing in this trade is that they WOULDN’T have to give up Troy Murphy. I know some of you might think that Murphy doesn’t make a huge difference in making New Jersey a contender, but you need to remember that he has an $11.9 contract that expires at the end of this year. Imagine having Anthony and Brook Lopez, and being able to go out and still get a third star to place next to them. And even if they couldn’t, New Jersey would still be a serious threat in the East with a lineup of Lopez, Murphy, Anthony, Morrow, and Farmar. They would definitely be able to contend with Chicago, Milwaukee, and Charlotte for the 4th spot in the East behind the Celtics, Heat, and Magic. The key to this trade though, will be whether or not Anthony would sign an extension if traded to New Jersey.

This trade would instantly give the Hornets MUCH needed depth that they have been lacking. Boris Diaw would be a supurb back up Power Forward AND Small Forward for David West and Trevor Ariza. And Diaw would GREATLY benefit playing alongside a Point Guard like Paul (like he did with Nash) because he feeds off of slashing to the basket behind slower big men, and constantly moving on the court, setting screens, reading the defense and creating plays. He’s also been an absolute NIGHTMARE for the Lakers to match up against, constantly causing pains in their big mens behinds. DJ Augustin was never going to be a starting Point Guard in this league, and is much more suited to be a back up. And he would be a great one behind Paul, and a DEADLY sidekick as a shooter if New Orleans decided to go small. Augustin would also allow New Orleans to move Willie Green back to his natural position of Shooting Guard. Terrence Williams is an absolute Bulldog on the court, and would give the Hornets a very powerful back up Small Forward behind Ariza. Something that will come in very handy when they face a team with a burly 3 man such as Ron Artest, Lebron James, and Carmelo Anthony. But their are 4 major reasons that New Orleans would want to make this trade: 1. All three players have contracts that come off the books after this season, giving the Hornets flexibility. 2. Diaw and Augustin would give the Hornets 2 reserves that would allow Paul and West to save their energy for the playoffs. 3. Both Diaw and Augustin offer insurance in case of an injury to Paul or West. 4. This trade would put New Orleans on par with the OKC Thunder to compete for second place in the West. The components would fit almost perfectly into New Orleans system and personnel.

There are a few questions regarding this trade that we still need to consider though. Questions that can be absolute deal breakers and that can ruin the potential of it entirely

1. Is this enough for Denver to pull the trigger?

2. Will Anthony sign the extension to have New Jersey pull the trigger?

3. How will Chris Paul feel knowing that New Orleans made a trade involving Carmelo Anthony, that doesn’t put him in a Hornet uniform?

4. Is this enough to make CP3 want to stay in the Big Easy?

I hope you enjoyed this weeks article Hornet fans. Til next time, this is Agent Ziko signing OUT!!!

on the chance we are top 4/5 in the west (tis possible you haters) a month out from trade deadline, and marcus is playing well.
unless we get a starter quality player for peja and marcus i think id be inclined to hold onto him, get some capspace, resign peja for a veterans minimum and go after a free agent?

Tyler. Wasnt "giving up" on Marcus. Actually utilizing him. Few teams are gonna JUST want Pejas contract alone. Marcus is the guy we'll prolly have to pair him with to make any deal happen unfortunately.

Loosing Peja and Buckets for Boris, DJ and Terrence. Hmmm if you said that to me a month ago I would have been less enthused but I would do it now. Sure it would be a kick in the side to see Marcus go on to add to his game from last year but Im sure having a very suitable backup PG, SF/SG and Forward would soften the blow, and its probably like the DC trade that we lose a better/potential talent for a more useful position of need. In this case a potnetial 6th man and scoring backup for 3 top tier backups! Worth it in my books. Good trade idea if you dont factor in those question marks.

I think Tyson will come back man. I was thinking that. I talked to him when he was in LA this past summer, while he was still with Charlotte, and he REALLY misses CP3. He just raved about him for 15 minutes and how amazing of a person/friend/teammate he was. I can totally picture him coming back, even if at a small contract.
And yea, I figured there would be a lot of IF's in this trade. I got more coming. If I'm going to keep a consistent blog with multiple parts, I thought I'd mix in a lot of different scenarios.
And I agree about Williams. Guys a BEAST. Him and Ariza @ the 3 would be KILLER.

First of all I want to say Kudos for a plausible trade scenario. I don't really see any of the four teams getting shafted in this scenario and I think it is well thought out and balanced. I think the two biggest holdups would be Melo signing the extension in New Jersey, knowing all he has is Brook Lopez and a bunch of scrubs- and if he signs the extension, they wont have any room to make moves next summer. The second hold up will be convincing Billups to go to Charlotte to end his career.
Yeah I guess he likes Larry Brown, but do you think LB will stay there more than a few more months? Billups is home now in Denver and if he is going to leave, it will be to play for a contender. I doubt Charlotte wants to trade for a guy who will want no part in being there, but who knows?
As for the Hornets, i like the long term potential of DJ as a backup combo guard and I think Terrance Williams will be a quasi All Star player in this league one day. Like a better passing Josh Howard in his prime, so I would love this deal for the Hornets. All the team would be missing is its backup big, but maybe they can get Tyson to come back next year to fill that role.
Nice piece, good work.